British Land and SWIP strike shopping centres deal

British Land has bought Mayflower Retail Park on the edge of Basildon town centre, in Essex, from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) for £51m. The price represents a net initial yield of 6.3 percent, rising to 6.9 percent on letting the park’s one vacant unit, with significant opportunities to improve rental levels.

British Land will sell Valley Leisure Park, in Croydon, Surrey, to Scottish Widows for £28m as part of the deal, representing a net initial yield of 7.1 percent. The net cash investment British Land makes as a result will be £23m.

Mayflower Retail Park comprises 11 shops totalling 153,000 sq ft of Open A1 space serving a catchment of more than 300,000. Retailers at the park, which is next to a Tesco superstore, include Homebase, Currys, Harveys, Mothercare and Next.

British Land originally bought Valley Leisure Park in 2000 for £21m. The scheme comprises 135,000 sq ft of predominantly leisure accommodation, anchored by an eight-screen cinema.